Tag: The 2020’s
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Zach Bryan ‘The Great American Bar Scene’ (2024)
Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene feels like a natural step forward for a songwriter who’s always worn his heart right on the surface, even as his world has grown from lo-fi Navy barracks recordings to stadium crowds and big-name collaborations. What makes this record stand out is how Bryan widens the frame, folding…
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Hannes ‘When The City Sleeps’ (2021)
When The City Sleeps settles in with the easy charm of late-night bedroom pop, the kind of handmade sentimentality that comes along with lo-fi and heavily autotuned vocals. Hannes has a knack for making even the simplest melodies feeling honest and lived-in. There’s no big showmanship on display here, just a natural voice carrying songs…
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The Hives ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives’ (2025)
The Hives have always been one of those bands that never quite got the full credit they deserved. Back in high school I absolutely devoured Veni Vidi Vicious—it was loud, brash, and somehow sharper than most of what came out of that early 2000s garage rock revival. The Hives were one of the main reasons…
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Soul Blind ‘Feel It All Around’ (2022)
The shoegaze offshoot run continues this week, with Soul Blind’s debut album Feel It All Around our next stop on the dreamscape journey. Soul Blind is definitely on the heavier side, more oriented on modern metal, but incorporates just the right blend of shoegaze haziness and a surprising little dash of mid-aughts post-hardcore emo energy…
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Arm’s Length ‘Never Before Seen, Never Again Found’ (2022)
Never Before Seen, Never Again Found feels like a breath of fresh air for anyone who grew up loving emo but got a little tired of all the self-importance that came with it. The band pulls together the best parts of that elder emo energy—heart-on-sleeve lyrics, crashing guitars, and melodies that actually stick—with none of…
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Charmer ‘Downpour’ (2025)
It’s relatively rare nowadays that I listen to an album from a band that is 1) Completely brand new to me 2) Was found organically and not recommended by a friend 3) Impresses me so much that I listen to it for a week plus before writing an article about it. Charmer’s Downpour is the…
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The Story So Far ‘I Want To Disappear In The USA’ (2025)
Along with having a great band name (seriously what a great goddamn band name) The Story So Far is one of my favorite pop punk bands operating today. So when I saw that they’d be on tour with fellow modern pop punk titan Neck Deep and a hotshot upstart Origami Angel I was pretty excited.…
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Nova Twins ‘Parasites & Butterflies’ (2025)
Parasites & Butterflies is a fun romp through modern rock, blending hip hop and dubstep and pop together over highly energetic nu-metal esque instrumentation. Think Cardi B meets Muse meets Skrillex (especially on “N.O.V.A”) and you’re on the right track. I don’t know if this album has much if any staying power for me but…
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Central Cee ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ (2025)
Central Cee is one of the most prominent British MC’s right now and is a fun listen. UK Drill is just kind perfect to zone-out to while you’re taking a walk, especially because it’s pretty clear Cee both acknowledges how massive he’s becoming internationally while also making sure to let you know he doesn’t take…
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Noah Cyrus ‘The End of Everything’ (2020)
Being the sister of megastar Miley Cyrus and the daughter of similarly commercially popular father Billy Ray Cyrus doesn’t leave a whole lot of room on the family tree for another well known music star. But it seems like Noah Cyrus may revel in that sort of environment. Her 8 song extended play The End…
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Between You & Me ‘Armageddon’ (2021)
I don’t need to describe my love for pop punk (the last 2 1/2 years of writing about music has made that clear) and I’m always in the mood for hearing some new bands in the scene. Between You & Me heralds from Australia and their 2021 album Armageddon channels the raw energy of early…
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G Perico ‘Crip James’ (2024)
Crip James is a sharp album filled with West Coast cool and 70’s funk, basically a mix of Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle and Rick James Street Songs. It’s got the G-funk bounce, a helluva lot of swaggy funk, and a minimalist soulful backbone that makes it a fun ass listen. But what stands out most is…
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The Jump Cuts ‘What A Fun Way To Kill Some Time’ (2025)
Every once in awhile I love to search the deep dark catacombs of Spotify to find unheralded bands super far off the beaten path. Basically the artists like me (shoutout Matthew., Related To Strangers, and Kindergarten Cartel) who outside of their supportive families haven’t quite cracked the big time just yet. So today I fired…
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Bad Omens ‘The Death of Peace of Mind’ (2022)
There’s been a real influx of heavy metal bands who are blending the pop sensibilities of Justin Bieber, the metalcore of Underoath, and the prog-metal heaviness of bands like Animals As Leaders. Bad Omens’ The Death of Peace of Mind is one of those albums, whose propensity for dense synths and guitars dropped about 8…
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KNIVES FL ‘One Cut Away From Love’ (2024)
Every once in awhile (or if we’re being honest, a lot of while) I’ll get served ads on Instagram for young up-and-coming bands. The vast majority of these are in the pop punk vein. At any rate KNIVES FL was one of those bands who got delivered into my algorithm and I enjoyed this album.…
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Sincere Engineer ‘Cheap Grills’ (2023)
Sincere Engineer has that sharp Chicago punk rock sound down pat, complete with brilliantly depressed storytelling that sprints through tales of heartbreak and shoddy self-repair. Frontwoman Deanna Belos’ earnest vocal approach makes her sound like she’s right at the top of her range on every song. And she filters her diary-like lyrics through punchy, hook-laden…
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Nova Charisma ‘Metropolitan’ (2024)
Nova Charisma began in 2019 as a creative outlet for vocalist Donovan Melero (of Hail The Sun fame) and guitarist Sergio Medina, both known for their work in the progressive post-hardcore scene. While their main bands emphasized complex, layered arrangements, Nova Charisma aimed to explore a more accessible and direct songwriting approach. Between 2019 and…
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The Beaches ‘Blame My Ex’ (2023)
Every once in awhile it’s great to listen to some good old fashioned pop rock music. Enter The Beaches (great band name) who on Blame My Ex channel their cheeky heartbreak into a hook-heavy blend of pop rock polish and garage rock grit. The band leans pretty hard into crunchy distortion and throwback alt-rock textures…
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Modern Color ‘From The Leaves of Your Garden’ (2020)
I’m seeing Thrice live for the first time in like 20 odd years later this year (November 21st, circle the date) and stumbled upon Modern Color since they’ll be opening the show for them. And hot damn did Thrice ever pick a banger of a young band to open up for them in Modern Color.…
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Mammoth ‘Mammoth WVH’ (2021)
If you’ve played guitar somewhat regularly at any point in your life you’ve 100% got Eddie Van Halen’s solo from “Eruption” saved somewhere on a guitar inspiration playlist somewhere. So when I remembered that his song Wolfgang had a band of his own it dawned on me I hadn’t given his debut album a full…
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Pat Reedy ‘Make It Back Home’ (2024)
Make It Back Home is a good old-fashioned trip of honky tonk nostalgia, with heavenly slide guitars and a rumbling rhythm section clashing with Pat Reedy’s road-weary voice that tells a story in and of itself even if you aren’t paying attention to the lyrics. Solid highway music through and through. Standout Songs: “Make It…
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Jeff Kashiwa ‘Sunrise’ (2021)
I was hanging out with the kids this weekend and at the risk of showing my age we were listening to the free “Music Choice” channel on television while we played in the living room. For those unfamiliar it’s just a television station that plays songs on a loop ad-free. We had one the smooth…
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Bilmuri ‘American Motor Sports’ (2024)
Bilmuri’s American Motor Sports is far from the most interesting conglomeration of music genres I’ve listened to over the past three years (that honor would go to Carmen’s 1973 album Fandangos In Space which blended flamenco music with prog-rock sensibilities) but it’s certainly an album that has stuck with me in a similar fashion. American…
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Spanish Love Songs ‘Brave Faces Everyone’ (2020)
Spanish Love Songs isn’t for everyone. But they certainly are for me. I love their Americana-tinged pop punk, the raw vocals from lead singer Dylan Slocum, and the honesty in which they approach their songwriting. Every song is a story that comes from a place of honesty. While Slocum’s harsh “yell-sing” vocals may be grating…
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WILLOW ’empathogen’ (2024)
I was in downtown Palo Alto last night for a Thai cooking class with my mom at Sur La Table. It was a great time, and as we were exiting the store we realized we were a block away from the Coldplay concert at Stanford Stadium and had to juggle our way through all the…
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Related to Strangers ‘GHOST’ (2025)
Today we cover the creative process behind the debut album of my band Related to Strangers. You’ll get an inside look at what the songs are about and the process we took to write the album. Hope you enjoy.
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The War On Drugs ‘LIVE DRUGS’ (2020)
The War On Drugs “LIVE DRUGS” is a celebration of the live performances from a band who has brought the nostalgic beauty of heartland rock to the masses. Today we dive deep into what makes this band so incredible.
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Fiddlehead ‘Between the Richness’ (2021)
Between the Richness explores the stickiness of trauma without ever getting lost and succumbing to the overbearing weight of grief. A blast of hardcore energy filtered through the melodic shine of ‘90s alternative and the heart-on-sleeve intensity of emo from the mid-80’s.
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Webbed Wing ‘What’s So Fucking Funny?’ (2021)
Taylor Madison, best known for his work with Superheaven, leans deep into 90s nostalgia with his project Webbed Wing in all the best ways. Thicc-ass guitar tones, sharp songwriting, and a real warmth to the production that makes you feel like you’re sitting in a beat up couch in your parent’s living room watching Home…
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Mouth Culture ‘Mishaps Of My Mid Twenties’ (2023)
There is something happening in Britain right now and I’m all about it. A new wave of rock bands is emerging from our brothers from across the pond, filled with piss and vinegar and a real penchant for plugging in guitars with the sole focus of blowing out your eardrums. Mishaps of My Mid Twenties…
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Wisp ‘Pandora’ (2024)
It’s not often I immediately replay an album I’m hearing for the first time from a new artist. Listening to one album per day across over the last two and a half years will do that to a man, creating an insatiable desire to find the next thing that will delight the ol’ eardrums and…
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Hermanos Gutiérrez ‘Hijos Del Sol’ (2020)
Listening to Hermanos Gutiérrez is a semi-religious experience. They craft minimal instrumental guitar music that shimmers with a dreamlike, hallucinogenic energy that immediately transports you to a different world. In songwriting we talk about world-building all the time, and that process with traditional music (aka pop) usually needs lyrics to fully get the point home.…
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Magdalena Bay ‘Imaginal Disk’ (2024)
Magdalena’s Bay Imaginal Disk is a synth-driven exploration of dance-pop, electronic rock, and psychedelia, juiced to the gills in a maximalist production style. Put another way there’s about a million candy-coated hooks tucked in every nook and cranny of this bad boy. It’s like the layered density of shoegaze albums of old with a splash…
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Whitehchapel ‘Hymns in Dissonance’ (2025)
Ed. Note: This is the first guest post in the history of this site (a new milestone!). Today’s album review will feature the writing of my brother Mitchell Plank, whose affinity for thoughtful prose is only supplanted by his love for heavy metal and photography. You can check out his photography Instagram by clicking here.…
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The Fearless Flyers ‘IV’ (2024)
If you’re into funky, clean guitar work, locked-in grooves and serious musicianship without any pretension, The Fearless Flyers are the band for you. They’re essentially a spin-off of Vulfpeck, comprised of Cory Wong, Mark Lettieri, Joe Dart, and Nate Smith, and take a stripped down no-frills approach to funk music. I would say they’re defined…
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Viagra Boys ‘Cave World’ (2022)
My brother shared this band with me a few weeks ago and it’s a total trip. The concept of Cave World is simple yet brilliant– the band dove deep into the world of terminally-online conspiracy theorists and wrote an album based off the first-person perspectives of those they were mocking. The band explores these topics…
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